Lead pencil holder



April 4, 1950 E. w. CURTIS LEAD PENCIL HOLDER Filed Aug. 2, 1944 IN VEN TOR Q 4 L A N N www Patented Apr. 4, 1950 METRE STATES RTENT OFFiCh 2 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of holders for short stubs of lead pencils, `it Abeing .understood that by inserting a short pencil into such a holder, the eiective length of the pencil is increased accordingly so far as the handling of thesame is concerned and it becomes possible to use short stubs which would otherwise be discarded.

Since my present improved device is adapted to hold a pencil stub in each end thereof, it may be referred to as a -pencil coupling.

4Fig. l is an end elevation of my present device:

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken online 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a View, partly broken away, illustrating the manner of using this device; and

Fig. e is a view, partly broken away, showing a. modication.

Heretofore there have been devised pencil holders to receive and engage the full diameter of the body of the pencil but they have not proved entirely satisfactory because of certain conditions. For instance, all lead pencils are not of the same size and shape and the wood employed is not all or the same texture; and, as a result, there has been required some special provision for holding the pencil body firmly in such a device.

Accordingly, the object-of the present invention is to provide a holder that is universally adapted for use with 4all lead pencils which have been sharpened in the conventional manner, as for instance in the familiar pencil `sharpener. My holder will grip the tapered 'portion of the sharpcned end of the pencil. l

Another object is -to provide such ra holder with means of screw-threaded engagement to receive and eiiectively hold the tapered portion of the sharpened end thereof.

Another object is to provide such a holder with duplicate pencil-receiving and holding means upon both ends thereof.

Another object is to devise such a holder with means for effectively gripping the tapered portion of the sharpened pencil and also with piloting means for centering and directing the sharpened end of the pencil as it is inserted into the holder for engagement therewith.

Another object is to devise such a holder with means for preventing accidental insertion of the same into the pencil Sharpener during the sharp ening of the pencil while in. the holder.

' Another object is to provide such a holder with unitary means that is adapted to prevent accidental insertion of the same into the familiar pencil Sharpener and that will serve also as a means of better gripping and holding the device Eli 2 in the hand `of the `user and that will further prevent the `device vfrom rolling off o the desk or drawing board.

Referring first to the form of device illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the present drawing, it comprises a `tubular body l which has the bore 2 through the middle part thereof and the larger boresin the two end portions thereof as will be explained. Thus the body l may be described as being .hollow throughout its entire extent, according-tothe present form of disclosure.

ArIhe bore 3 yin each end portion of the holder t is 'larger than fthe .bore 2 and corresponds to the inner diameter of a Isharp vscrew-thread that is indicated by reference numeral li. The bore 5 at Ieach end of the holder is larger than the bore Sand corresponds ito the outer diameter of the screw-threads 4.

vThe screw-threads 4 yare adapted to have effective holding engagement with the tapered wood portion of the pencil after 'having been sharpened 7i-n the conventional pencil Sharpener and the bore l'2 is adapted to receive the pointed lead portion and the ximmediately adjoining tapered portion of the wooden body of the pencil as a guiding Ymeans for the same as the pencil is progressively engaged by the vholding device in the manner explained.

It is "to be understood that the two ends of the l holder, in 'the present form of disclosure, are

formed identical so that both ends thereof may receive and hold lead pencils in the manner herein set forth. Thus a double-pointed pencil maybe inserted in each end of the holder; and, by reversing each of the two pencils, there may be obtained the advantage of four different pencil points which may be of diirerent degrees of hardness or of different colors.

Since the tapered ends of all of the pencils are presumably of the same size, either end of any such pencil can be inserted into either end of the holder.

Each end portion of the device is provided with an annular series of projections that will prevent the holder from being inserted too far into the pencil Sharpener and will thus prevent the holder from engaging the cutters of the pencil Sharpener. Also, these projections 6 will prevent the device from rolling off of the desk or drawing board and will provide a better means of gripping the holder in the hand of the user.

In the modied form of device shown in Fig. 4 of the present drawing, the inner surface of each end portion of the holder body l' is of a tapered form and is provided with another type of rscrewthread 'l that conforms to the tapered end of a lead pencil, after having been sharpened in the familiar sharpener, so as to have effective screwthreaded engagement therewith. These tapered end openings are connected by the intermediate bore 2 Which is adapted to receive the lead point and the immediately adjacent portion of the body of the pencil and to center or pilot the same as the pencil is inserted into the holder.

1n Fig. 4 I have indicated a rubber eraser 8 in its ferrule 9 on one end of one of the stub pencils; and it is to be understood that the same expedient may be adopted in connection With the other form of holder that is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Or, if so desired, a rubber eraser itself may be screwed directly into one end of the holder.

My present device is easy to handle in actual use, the -pencil stubs can be easily applied to the holder, and they yare held firmly therein. Also, the pencil stubs can be readily removed from the holder and their positions therein reversed. Then by sharpening both ends of each pencil stub, the user may have the advantage of four pencil points which may be of diierent degrees or hardness or of different colors. of the pencil stubs may have a rubber eraser on it, or a rubber eraser may be applied directly to the end of the holder.

ByAvirtue of the fact that this holder is applied to the conventional tapered end portion of a sharpened pencil, it may be employed with all pencils that are sharpened in the familiar sharpener; and thus I have overcome the objectionable features or the previous pencil holders.

This holder or coupling may be made of any suitable material so long as a screw-thread can be formed in the same in the manner herein set forth.

Because of the comparatively simple construction of this device, it can be made and sold at a reasonable price and is thus capable of popular adoption and use in the eld for which intended.

It is to be understood that the present form of disclosure is merely for the purpose of illustration and that there might be devised various modications thereof without departing from the spirit of my invention as herein set forth and claimed. f'

Also, it is to be understood that the term lead pencil is employed in the present specification and claims as a matter of convenience and in a generic sense. That is to say, it is not intended to restrict the use of my present device to only those pencils in which the Writing medium is Also, as above explained, one i lead; but this term is intended to include also pencils in which the writing medium may be of some other material.

What I claim is:

l. A lead pencil holder comprising a tubular body having its interior at at least one end portion thereof formed with an outer bore and an adjacent inner bore, said outer bore being provided with a screw-thread of suitable inner diameter for effective screw-thread holding engagement with the tapered end portion of the body of a conventionally sharpened lead pencil, and said inner bore being of a diameter substantially larger than that of the lead portion of said lead pencil and adapted for piloting engagement with the forward part of the tapered body portion of said sharpened lead pencil, While all of the lead at the sharpened end of said lead pencil occupies centered spaced relation With respect to the wall of said inner bore.

2. A lead pencil holder comprising a tubular body having its interior at at least one end portion thereof provided With means for effective holding engagement with the tapered end portion of the body oi a conventionally sharpened lead pencil and being provided with also a bore located inwardly beyond said means for holding engagement, said bore being of a diameter substantially larger than that of the lead portion or" said lead pencil and adapted for piloting engagement with the forward part of the tapered body portion of said sharpened lead pencil, while all of the lead at the sharpened end or said lead pencil occupies centered spaced relation with respect to the Wall of said inner bore.

EARL W. CURTIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nie of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 10,880 Clark Oct. 29, 1878 132,174 Orton Oct. 15, 1872 407,509 Bloch July 23, 1889 468,744 Greenwald Feb. 9, 1892 607,968 Call Feb. 12, 1901 940,797 Fraser Nov. 23, 1909 1,111,501 Scheible Sept. 22, 1914 1,212,020 Contant Jan. 9, 1917 1,283,860 Mitchell Nov. 5, 1918 1,427,711 Bartle et al Aug. 29, 1922 1,936,213A Snedden Nov. 21, 1933 

